With two new looms, a multi-year R&D programme, the option to work remotely, a new excellence programme and 250 completed projects to build on, the TextielLab has big plans for 2022. “Thanks to a major government subsidy, we’ll be able to offer makers even more,” says head of the lab, Hebe Verstappen.
If Hebe Verstappen had to describe the past year in the TextielLab in one sentence, it would have nothing to do with pandemics or lockdowns – a considerable digitisation effort enabled the team to work around them. “The BIS subsidy has given us wings over the past year,” she says. “Thanks to this national government subsidy, we were able to launch plans that had been shelved for some time. These included buying a very expensive loom, hiring new experts, revitalising our R&D programme, expanding the Sample Studio with knitting samples and offering our makers a better platform for their work. We’re extremely happy about that. We’ll now be able to offer our makers, many of whom are going through a tough time, even more value.”
A look back at 2021
The lab team recently completed an overview of the work carried out in the TextielLab in 2021. This amounted to more than 250 projects, covering everything from material research to innovative production techniques and designs. The long list of names of both emerging and established designers has been published for the first time on the TextielLab’s website. It shows the multiplicity and variety of all the processes in the lab. When asked to name some of the highlights, Verstappen mentioned the TextielLab’s role as ‘pitch coordinator’ for a project in which the lab selected and supervised five top talents in the development of innovative furnishing concepts for Tilburg’s new city hall. Another highlight was a knowledge transfer project in which an outgoing senior employee passed the baton to two junior staff. Together they supervised two completely different designers, who were given carte blanche to carry out a range of experiments. The multi-year R&D programme, as part of which Studio Drift is investigating ways to build with textiles, is also worth looking out for. The programme was one of the main reasons to purchase the high-tech 3.5-metre-wide loom as well as the low-tech TC2 loom where each weft thread is still inserted manually.
Photo: Skadi Tirpak. From left to right: Ruth Emmerink (Consul General), Bas van Beek (designer), Silvia Barisione (head curator Wolfsonian FIU, Miami Beach), Aric Chen (head of Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam).
“The BIS subsidy has given us wings over the past year. Thanks to this national government subsidy, we were able to launch plans that had been shelved for some time. These included buying a very expensive loom, hiring new experts, revitalising our R&D programme, expanding the Sample Studio with knitting samples and offering our makers a better platform for their work. We’re extremely happy about that.” – Hebe Verstappen, head of TextielLab
Excellence programme
Of course, not all the lab’s work was unaffected. The educational programmes, for instance, had to be cancelled due to restrictions on group size. At the same time, an even higher number of art and design students were able to develop their graduation project in the lab. As an extension of this, an excellence programme is in the works, with open calls for emerging designers and artists who can apply to work in the lab this spring at a subsidised rate. Verstappen does not want to reveal the whole programme at this point but says it will be varied: “We’re going to do something very special for Carré theatre in Amsterdam, we’re going to make wall hangings for a church in Ghana, and we will give collection commissions to Raquel van Haver, Melanie Bonajo and hundreds of other interesting projects. The TextielLab has more and more to offer makers, so keep an eye on the newsletter and website.”
Made in the TextielLab
More than 250 projects were carried out in the TextielLab in 2021, in close collaboration with a wide range of makers – from students and young talent to leading designers and artists. To give you an idea of the lab’s output, we have created an overview here. Can’t find your work? Send a message to info@textiellab.nl with a short project description and photo and we’ll make sure it’s added.
